How-To, Northern Pike Y-Bone removal.

[WillCFish]

Northern Y Bone removal has always been a mystery to me but not now.
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[WillCFish]

Has anyone tried the Y-Bone removal method?[fishon]
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[WillCFish]

Can't wait to do some filleting.[fishon]
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[uplures]

I cut behind the head down to the spine. Then with the pike on its' belly I remove the top of the fish cutting up at the dorsal fin. Then I cut down both sides of the bones in that chunk getting the two thin fillets you see in the video. Now the tips of the y bones are exposed and you can fillet around them to the belly. I usually stop that fillet at the dorsal fin also. Then I start my next fillet behind the dorsal fin. Right under the dorsal fin there is a mouthful of bones so I skip that part. I end up with five fillets total.

I wish I had pictures. This is really tough to describe.
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[Doyle33]

I have been using that method since I was a kid. My grandfather taught me when I was about seven years old and I am 45 now to give that some perspective. I would watch my grandpa fillet coolers full of crappie slabs back in the day with a cigarette hanging off his lip and a cold one at his side. I would ask him to let me do some untill one day he finally gave in to a persistant kid's request and now I can fillet slabs of crappie like nobodies business with minimal waste in record time.....dang that brought back some memories...Don
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